Sony noted that some DLC will be available to re-download should a user delete the GT5 Save Data, but some will not be able to be re-installed.

There include the Racing Car Pack, Course Pack, Family Upgrade and others.

Regarding Gran Turismo TV, distribution of all programs within Gran Turismo 5 will cease on March 14. Programs which have been purchased will be available for viewing and downloading during the availability period. All programs after this date will not be available except the opening and the ending movies.

As previously mentioned, online services for Gran Turismo 5, including Online Lobby, Seasonal Events, Museum, News, Community, Remote Race, Log in Bonus, Online Dealership and DLC purchase, will no longer be available after May 30.

]]>http://www.vg247.com/2014/02/22/gran-turismo-5-dlc-being-pulled-from-the-store-in-april/feed/4Sony to shut down multiplayer servers for Gran Turismo 5, Resistance series, morehttp://www.vg247.com/2014/01/06/sony-to-shut-down-multiplayer-severs-for-grand-turismo-5-resistance-series/
http://www.vg247.com/2014/01/06/sony-to-shut-down-multiplayer-severs-for-grand-turismo-5-resistance-series/#commentsMon, 06 Jan 2014 14:15:13 +0000http://www.vg247.com/?p=437679Sony has announced it’s shutting down online multiplayer servers and ceasing all online functionality support for titles such as Gran Turismo 5 and all the Resistance series. Find out your last chance to play them online inside.

In a service update on the PS Blog, the firm confirmed the dates and all the affected titles.

As of March 28 all online functions for Resistance: Fall of Man, Resistance 2 and Resistance 3 will no longer be available. And as of May 20 all online functions for Gran Turismo 5 will no longer be available.

]]>http://www.vg247.com/2014/01/06/sony-to-shut-down-multiplayer-severs-for-grand-turismo-5-resistance-series/feed/7Gran Turismo series has shifted 70 million unitshttp://www.vg247.com/2013/05/15/gran-turismo-series-has-shifted-70-million-units/
http://www.vg247.com/2013/05/15/gran-turismo-series-has-shifted-70-million-units/#commentsWed, 15 May 2013 15:38:48 +0000http://www.vg247.com/?p=367063Jim Ryan, SCEE’s president and CEO, has announced at the Gran Turismo 15th Anniversary event that Gran Turismo 5 has sold 10 million units worldwide, and the series as a whole has moved 70 million units. Ryan said almost half of those were sold in Europe. Ryan also said that “PlayStation and Gran Turismo are always going to be linked,” as the series is and will remain exclusive to PlayStation”. Sony Europe is tweeting the announcements as they happen from Silverstone, and you can keep up with its tweets through the link.
]]>http://www.vg247.com/2013/05/15/gran-turismo-series-has-shifted-70-million-units/feed/0Sony celebrates 15 years of Gran Turismohttp://www.vg247.com/2013/05/08/sony-celebrates-15-years-of-gran-turismo/
http://www.vg247.com/2013/05/08/sony-celebrates-15-years-of-gran-turismo/#commentsWed, 08 May 2013 16:15:30 +0000http://www.vg247.com/?p=364985SCEE is celebrating the 15th anniversary Gran Turismo by hosting an event at Silverstone Circuit in the UK, where Kazunori Yamauchi is set to discuss the future of the series.

The original Gran Turismo was release in Japan during December, 1997, after being in development for five years. It was released to the rest of the world during 1998, and the franchise went on to become the biggest-selling PlayStation title ever.

According to Sony, Yamauchi will provide an update on the future of the Gran Turismo game at Silverstone, and five Gran Turismo gamers turned GT Academy champions will be on hand at Silverstone as well to show off their “real-world racing skills with some high-speed passenger laps around the famous circuit.”

]]>http://www.vg247.com/2013/05/08/sony-celebrates-15-years-of-gran-turismo/feed/9PS3 Legacy bundle offers two games and 500GB HDD for $300http://www.vg247.com/2013/05/07/ps3-legacy-bundle-offers-two-games-and-500gb-hdd-for-300/
http://www.vg247.com/2013/05/07/ps3-legacy-bundle-offers-two-games-and-500gb-hdd-for-300/#commentsTue, 07 May 2013 00:12:43 +0000http://www.vg247.com/?p=364235Sony has unveiled a new PlayStation 3 retail bundle with some pretty impressive pack-ins.

The newly-revealed Legacy bundle included a PS3 Super Slim with 500GB hard drive, one Dual Shock 3 controller, and all the usual accessories and cables.

It also brings two games to the table – Gran Turismo 5 with bundled codes for all DLC to date and InFamous 2 – as well as 30 days’ subscription to PlayStation Plus, which nets you free access to games and discounts for the life of your subscription.

The whole thing goes for $300 which is fairly pleasant. The bundle has only been announced for the USA as yet.

The Stingray is the seventh generation of Corvette and is set for reveal at the 2013 Detroit motor show today. ThePlayStation Blog reports the new vehicle will be added as free DLC from from 8:00PM GMT on January 15.

The in-game reveal is due to a collaboration between Polyphony Digital and General Motors, which quite please team lead Kazunori Yamauchi.

“The Polyphony team has had an unforgettable experience getting to know the Corvette Stingray, inside and out, and bringing it into Gran Turismo 5. We’re excited to share our experience with fans and let them feel, explore and drive the Corvette in a way that wasn’t possible until now,” he said.

All six previous generations of the Corvette have been in previous versions of Gran Turismo. Screens and video below.

]]>http://www.vg247.com/2013/01/14/gran-turismo-5-gets-free-corvette-stingray-dlc/feed/2Gran Turismo 5’s GT Academy becomes reality TV series in Februaryhttp://www.vg247.com/2013/01/10/gran-turismo-5s-gt-academy-becomes-reality-tv-series-in-february/
http://www.vg247.com/2013/01/10/gran-turismo-5s-gt-academy-becomes-reality-tv-series-in-february/#commentsThu, 10 Jan 2013 12:08:46 +0000http://www.vg247.com/?p=328901Gran Turismo 5’s ongoing GT Academy campaign – in which gamers are trained up to become professional race drivers for Nissan – is to become a reality TV show airing in the UK from February 4th. Get more details after the break.

The GT Academy series will air on UK channel ITV 4 on Monday nights at 8pm starting February 4th. There will be repeat showings every Saturday in the early evening and on Sunday mornings.

Sony and ITV’s show follows some 830,000 gamers from 14 European countries who signed up to the GT Academy, each competing to be the fastest Gran Turismo 5 players. The top six players were decided by a National Final event, and raced their way to a spot at the GT Academy Race Camp at UK track Silverstone last year. Then they were trained in-game, and learned the skills necessary to become proficient at the real thing.

The top prize was the chance to represent Europe in Nissan’s 370Z GT4 car at the Dubai International 24 Hour race which takes place this month. Previews of the show have called it tense and sees the gamers-turned-pro racers facing insane pressure in stepping up to the role.

Does this behind-the-scenes glimpse at GT Academy interest you? Would you like to see other games given the same treatment? If so, which ones?

Let me tell you how secret this prototype is: not only does it not appear in any other games, nobody’s even seen it. The in-game model is carefully camouflaged, as is the vehicle at any and all public appearances. Spy photos of the damned thing are worth $100,000 each.

The prototype is due for official reveal on January 13, 2013. This is the closest you can get till then. Screen and trailer below.

]]>http://www.vg247.com/2012/11/29/gran-turismo-5-boasts-exclusive-corvette-c7-test-prototype/feed/4Gran Turismo series has shifted 67.8 million units to datehttp://www.vg247.com/2012/11/06/gran-turismo-series-has-shifted-67-8-million-units-to-date/
http://www.vg247.com/2012/11/06/gran-turismo-series-has-shifted-67-8-million-units-to-date/#commentsTue, 06 Nov 2012 11:09:01 +0000http://www.vg247.com/?p=313522Gran Turismo 5 may have taken an age to release, but why rush it when sales of 67.8 million is the reward? Developer Polyphony Digital has released official Gran Turismo series stats. Anyone want to guess which game has sold the most? Find out below.

The stats, as published on Polyphony’s site, show a series in rude health. Here’s a global breakdown of units sold across the series so far:

]]>http://www.vg247.com/2012/11/06/gran-turismo-series-has-shifted-67-8-million-units-to-date/feed/65Gran Turismo 5’s getting three new cars next weekhttp://www.vg247.com/2012/09/20/gran-turismo-5-getting-three-new-cars-next-week/
http://www.vg247.com/2012/09/20/gran-turismo-5-getting-three-new-cars-next-week/#commentsThu, 20 Sep 2012 16:07:31 +0000http://www.vg247.com/?p=299458GT5: Academy Edition launches next week, and so does more DLC for Gran Turismo 5.

For those still enjoying the racer, on September 25 and 26 in the US and UK, respectively, the Sunaru BRZ S ’12, the Honda Weider HSV-010 (SUPER GT) ’11, and the Nissan GT-R N24 GT Academy ’12, will be released so you can add them to your car collection.

These three new vehicles will be available on PlayStation Store for €0.99/£0.79 each.

Update Update 2.08 will also be available. Here’s the details on that:

Now possible to select “Disable collisions” in the [Event Settings] of online races.

ID’s are now shown above cars when watching online races.

Response of the clutch pedal when using the steering wheel controllers “G25 Racing Wheel”, “G27 Racing Wheel”, “T500RS” and “TH8RS” has been adjusted.

Rate of tire wear in endurance races has been slowed (excluding formula cars).

Amount of air resistance change when altering aerodynamic wing settings has been increased.

Autopilot has been adjusted to prevent colliding with the wall when exiting the pit lane on the Tsukuba circuit.

Adjusted the changes in control characteristic when altering vehicle height from standard height. (Vehicle height can be changed by adjusting ride height, either by installing a suspension kit or adjusting a full customizable suspension kit.)

The exec was speaking after last night’s barnstorming Sony gamescom conference in Cologne, during which the firm announced a multitude of highly creative IPs and showed more on upcoming triple-A titles such as Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us.

One game conspicuous by its absence, however, was The Last Guardian. Yoshida refused to be drawn on the status of the Team Ico title.

“We don’t decide what to talk about until close to those events, so we really don’t have the set agenda for any of these projects that you’re talking about,” he said.

During Saturday’s Gran Turismo 5 Asia Championship 2012 event, Yamauchi confirmed he won’t be spilling the beans any time soon.

“If I carelessly say when it will be released, you’ll end up with people saying things like ‘it’s been delayed again!?’ so I will no longer say at this type of event.”

After continued delays to GT5, this is probably a wise idea. Thanks, Andriasang!

]]>http://www.vg247.com/2012/08/13/yamuchi-wary-of-giving-timeframe-for-gran-turismo-6/feed/16Gran Turismo lead talks Vita, GT6 and modshttp://www.vg247.com/2012/07/27/garn-turismo-lead-talks-vita-gt6-and-mods/
http://www.vg247.com/2012/07/27/garn-turismo-lead-talks-vita-gt6-and-mods/#commentsFri, 27 Jul 2012 01:57:12 +0000http://www.vg247.com/?p=280148Speaking at an event in China, Polyphony Digital boss Kazunori Yamauchi gave Gran Turismo fans a few clues as to the franchise’s future.

Impress Watch, via Andriasang, reports Yamauchi was asked about a Gran Turismo game for Vita. Although the developer didn’t say a new portable game was in development, it seemed he’d given it some thought.

“If we were to make it, we’d like to make use of the ability to play anywhere and the ability to use 3G at any time,” he said.

Fans also asked about the possibility of letting users customise their Gran Turismo 5 vehicles more fully.

“If we can find a good balance, we’d like to increase the areas where users can make modifications,” he noted, somewhat evasively.

Finally, Yamauchi confirmed one of the industry’s worst kept secrets by admitting he’s been planning the sequel since the fifth entry shipped.

“We’re always aiming for the latest technology and the latest expression,” he said.

]]>http://www.vg247.com/2012/07/27/garn-turismo-lead-talks-vita-gt6-and-mods/feed/1Toyota Scion FR-S and Twin Ring Motegi DLC released for GT5http://www.vg247.com/2012/06/26/toyota-scion-fr-s-and-twin-ring-motegi-dlc-released-for-gt5/
http://www.vg247.com/2012/06/26/toyota-scion-fr-s-and-twin-ring-motegi-dlc-released-for-gt5/#commentsTue, 26 Jun 2012 15:52:39 +0000http://www.vg247.com/?p=272709Sony has announced the Twin Ring Motegi circuit pack and the Scion FR-S ’12 will be released for Gran Turismo 5 tomorrow via the usual PS Store update. It will be free of charge. Hit up the PS Blog for more information.
]]>http://www.vg247.com/2012/06/26/toyota-scion-fr-s-and-twin-ring-motegi-dlc-released-for-gt5/feed/336.4 billion miles racked up in GT5’s onlinehttp://www.vg247.com/2012/06/25/36-4-million-miles-racked-up-in-gt5s-online/
http://www.vg247.com/2012/06/25/36-4-million-miles-racked-up-in-gt5s-online/#commentsMon, 25 Jun 2012 06:24:33 +0000http://www.vg247.com/?p=27211036.4 billion miles have been driven online on Gran Turismo 5 since the Polyphony racer’s launch in late 2010, series creator Kazunori Yamauchi has tweeted.

The average of those numbers is at least 63 million miles per day during online. The same distance has also been covered so far with this year’s GT Academy 2012. That is around 2.6 million miles per hour or near 730 miles per second.

The stat is equal to travelling from Earth to the Sun and back 200 times or a round trip from the Sun to Neptune 13 times.

]]>http://www.vg247.com/2012/06/25/36-4-million-miles-racked-up-in-gt5s-online/feed/1GT Academy champion offers tips and tricks todayhttp://www.vg247.com/2012/05/17/gt-academy-champion-offers-tips-and-tricks-today/
http://www.vg247.com/2012/05/17/gt-academy-champion-offers-tips-and-tricks-today/#commentsWed, 16 May 2012 23:21:17 +0000http://www.vg247.com/?p=259462The US leg of GT Academy 2012 is well under way, with over 600,000 competitors participating in this year’s season since it began on May 1. Those eager to snaffle the chance at a racing contract should tune into Twitch.TV later today, when Bryan Heitkotter, the first US winner, will be handing out free advice. The broadcast kicks off at 6:00PM PDT. Once again, visit the PS Blog for more info.
]]>http://www.vg247.com/2012/05/17/gt-academy-champion-offers-tips-and-tricks-today/feed/0GT Academy 2012 in full swing; qualifying track screened, promo calls revheads to armshttp://www.vg247.com/2012/05/08/gt-academy-2012-in-full-swing-qualifying-track-screened-promo-calls-revheads-to-arms/
http://www.vg247.com/2012/05/08/gt-academy-2012-in-full-swing-qualifying-track-screened-promo-calls-revheads-to-arms/#commentsMon, 07 May 2012 23:37:19 +0000http://www.vg247.com/?p=256642GT Academy 2012 is under way, and you don’t even need to own Gran Turismo 5 to qualify. Study the curves of the track included the free downloadable qualifier, and be inspired by a stirring trailer.

The GT Academy 2012 demo hit the PlayStation Network on May 2, and allows players to take the first steps on a journey which could end with their becoming a professional race driver. We’re not even kidding; GT Academy is your ticket to fun times and possibly horrific injuries. For the rest of us it’s a chance to see just how classy some armchair drivers really are when we get knocked out in the first round.

]]>http://www.vg247.com/2012/05/08/gt-academy-2012-in-full-swing-qualifying-track-screened-promo-calls-revheads-to-arms/feed/0GT Academy 2012 to start on May 1http://www.vg247.com/2012/04/16/gt-academy-2012-to-start-on-may-1/
http://www.vg247.com/2012/04/16/gt-academy-2012-to-start-on-may-1/#commentsMon, 16 Apr 2012 13:58:20 +0000http://www.vg247.com/?p=251262Sony’s announced it’ll beginning GT Academy 2012 on May 1, kicking off with the release of a special Gran Turismo demo just for the event.

The online qualification event, created specifically for the competition by Polyphony Digital and Kazunori Yamauchi, won’t need a copy of Gran Turismo 5 to play it and is free to download.

The taster will come with “a set of exclusive challenges that should be a lot of fun whether you’ve played Gran Turismo before or whether you are coming to the game as a complete newbie.”

Once that portion of the competition is done, the national finals await, before heading straight into Racecamp at Silverstone. Winner there will get to progress to aim towards a drive in the Dubai 24 hour race next January.

]]>http://www.vg247.com/2012/04/16/gt-academy-2012-to-start-on-may-1/feed/0Rumour – Bathurst to be featured in Gran Turismohttp://www.vg247.com/2012/03/11/rumour-bathurst-to-be-featured-in-gran-turismo/
http://www.vg247.com/2012/03/11/rumour-bathurst-to-be-featured-in-gran-turismo/#commentsSun, 11 Mar 2012 22:02:28 +0000http://www.vg247.com/?p=241652One Gran Turismo fan claims to have spotted a group of Polyphony Digital staffers taking reference photos at an Australian track.

As detailed on the GTPlanet forums, five photographers were spotted hanging around at the Mount Panorama track in Bathurst.

One user claims to have captured some sneaky video footage while chatting to the photographers, in which they can clearly be heard claiming they are collecting materials for Gran Turismo.

Other Gran Turismo fans in the area converged on the site in search of more answers; one was told the photographic team would be bringing a helicopter in.

If genuine, Polyphony Digital may be gathering materials for a new piece of Gran Turismo 5 DLC featuring the famous track – or moving on to the next instalment in the series.

]]>http://www.vg247.com/2012/03/11/rumour-bathurst-to-be-featured-in-gran-turismo/feed/2GT5 gets update 2.05 this weekhttp://www.vg247.com/2012/02/14/gt5-gets-update-2-05-this-week/
http://www.vg247.com/2012/02/14/gt5-gets-update-2-05-this-week/#commentsTue, 14 Feb 2012 07:36:20 +0000http://www.vg247.com/?p=233342Kazunori Yamauchi has confirmed Polyphony will release version 2.05 of Gran Turismo 5 this week, beginning from Japan tomorrow. The update, which will spread to Europe on Thursday following the Asian release, will stablise gameplay and fix bugs for online.

]]>http://www.vg247.com/2012/02/14/gt5-gets-update-2-05-this-week/feed/0Gran Turismo 5 patch due February 7http://www.vg247.com/2012/02/06/gran-turismo-5-patch-due-february-7/
http://www.vg247.com/2012/02/06/gran-turismo-5-patch-due-february-7/#commentsMon, 06 Feb 2012 01:58:32 +0000http://www.vg247.com/?p=231534Producer Kazunori Yamauchi has announced via Twitter , as translated by Andriasang, that the next title update for Gran Turismo 5 is due on February 7. No details have emerged regarding the patch, which will likely bring the racer to version 2.04. the PlayStation 3 exclusive launched in November 2010 and has continued to evolve through patches and DLC.

]]>http://www.vg247.com/2012/02/06/gran-turismo-5-patch-due-february-7/feed/0Gran Turismo 5 update and new DLC drops next weekhttp://www.vg247.com/2012/01/11/gran-turismo-5-update-and-new-dlc-drops-next-week/
http://www.vg247.com/2012/01/11/gran-turismo-5-update-and-new-dlc-drops-next-week/#commentsWed, 11 Jan 2012 18:00:39 +0000http://www.vg247.com/?p=225972Sony has announced Car Pack 3 and a new Speed Test Pack will be released for Gran Turismo 5 next week. Car Pack 3 contains the following cars: Lamborghini Aventador; Jaguar XJR9; Aston Martin V12 Vantage 2011; VW 1200 1966; Mini Countryman S 2011; and Nissan Leaf and will run you €5.99. The Speed Test Pack features a new oval test track with a performance measurement mode and the ability to compare stats and data between vehicles stored in the garage. It will be priced at €4.99. Both DLC releases will be made available on January 18, alongside Update 2.03, whoch contains small changes to the game, as well as new theme colours and wallpapers. New screenshots are in the gallery below.

]]>http://www.vg247.com/2012/01/11/gran-turismo-5-update-and-new-dlc-drops-next-week/feed/0Pick up the Gran Turismo 5 XL Edition January 17http://www.vg247.com/2012/01/06/pick-up-the-gran-turismo-5-xl-edition-january-17/
http://www.vg247.com/2012/01/06/pick-up-the-gran-turismo-5-xl-edition-january-17/#commentsFri, 06 Jan 2012 18:40:22 +0000http://www.vg247.com/?p=225076Sony has announced the Gran Turismo 5 XL Edition will be made available for purchase on January 17 for $39.99. The package contains the original game as well as the “new and improved features and functionality” from all downloadable updates through Spec 2.0. It also contains a voucher for DLC content which includes: the Racing Car Pack, Car Pack 2, Course Pack, Racing Gear Pack, and Paint Pack. Via US PS Blog.
]]>http://www.vg247.com/2012/01/06/pick-up-the-gran-turismo-5-xl-edition-january-17/feed/2Gran Turismo 5 DLC and update drop next weekhttp://www.vg247.com/2011/12/15/gran-turismo-5-dlc-and-update-drop-next-week/
http://www.vg247.com/2011/12/15/gran-turismo-5-dlc-and-update-drop-next-week/#commentsThu, 15 Dec 2011 05:45:56 +0000http://www.vg247.com/?p=222311Polyphony has served up a number of new downloads for Gran Turismo 5, all due in next week’s PlayStation Store update.

Another new piece of DLC, the Family Upgrade, allows players to unlock already-purchased DLC content for all users on a particular PlayStation 3 – not just the one who purchased it. It’s free, too – good news for siblings et al.

If you bought any of the past DLC packs, you’ll be also be rewarded with a Gran Turismo Racing Kart 125 SP and five New Car Refresh cards to use in-game.

Along with the DLC, Polyphony has also whipped up a new title update, bringing the game to version 2.02. The US PS Blog offers the following sample of some of the tweaks included in the patch, but it’s worth noting that the patch also offers a free Toyota FT-86 2012 for your collection.

Users can now change wheels on Standard cars

The settings sheets will include a new ‘copy’ feature

In GT Auto, players will be able to see how the oil changes, aerodynamic parts, engine overhauls, and racing modifications will affect performance points and engine power, before and after their application

Free coupons have been added that allow you to wash cars, change oil, overhaul your engine, or refresh the car body in GT Auto (10 coupons will be distributed for free to each of those who have downloaded the 2.02 update)

Pressing the Square button in the car coupon selection screen of the Car Delivery will now allow you to exchange all car coupons at once, rather than doing one at a time

In screens where the [Garage] and [Driver List] buttons are displayed in the A/B Spec events, Special Events, and Seasonal Events, pressing the Square button will now show the [Garage], and pressing the Triangle button will bring up the drivers list
In My Lounge, the room settings will feature a new ‘Max. number of participants’ setting

In the event selection screen of seasonal events, there are now ☆(star) marks that show the number of Gold Trophies attained in each event

Improved racing sound effects

Elements of the steering assist controls (used when using certain controllers on Racing Karts) have been tweaked

GT Academy 2011

The third European event of its kind, in which talented gamers have the chance to transition to real competitive race drivers, thanks to Sony and Nissan.

The 2011 online competition pulled over 90,000 competitors.

Inaugural US event his year attracted 53,000 hopefuls.

2011 winners Bryan Heitkotter (US) and Jann Mardenborough (EU) kicked off their careers this week at the Pembrey Circuit in Wales.

BOOM! That’s not just VG247’s news-breaking calling card, it’s also the sound of a high-powered sports car thumping into the barriers at 120 MPH. I know this because I heard it on my PS3, over and over again, while preparing for a recent, terrifying PlayStation event.

Sony had invited me to race a Nissan 370Z around Silverstone to celebrate GT Academy, the competition offering Gran Turismo 5’s top players the opportunity to become certified racing drivers. Yet I was incapable of completing even a virtual lap without causing a spectacular, life-threatening crash. I was shitting myself.

Thankfully, however, PlayStation and Nissan were also offering training, a taster of the intense Driver Development Programme GT Academy’s most recent winner, Jann Mardenborough, is currently going through. Encompassing national level races as well as comprehensive fitness, skill, psychology and simulation training, it’s a serious business. But was I up to it?

Cold Start
“I saw an advert for GT Academy in January, so I looked up some YouTube videos of the previous years’ winners and thought; if these guys – just normal guys who like playing racing games – can do it, why can’t I?”

In June, Jann Mardenborough, a 19 year-old PlayStation 3 gamer from Cardiff, beat 90,000 rivals to become the 2011 European GT Academy winner. Starting in his bedroom posting lap times in Gran Turismo 5 and culminating in a Johnny Herbert-mentored victory on the track at Silverstone, it’s a win that has changed Mardenborough’s life.

Already taking part in and winning national races, in January Mardenborough heads to the UAE to compete in the Dubai 24-hour race. Beyond that, a fully-fledged racing career awaits. And it’s all thanks to GT Academy.

My targets, meanwhile, were a little more modest: Survive the day and try not to write off 30 grand’s worth of racing car.

My first task was to set a benchmark time out on the track. This is what I feared most. I was to get behind the wheel of a 330 BHP Japanese sports car and rip around the International Circuit as fast as possible, without guidance. No racing line indicators, no rewinds, full damage modelling. Real life.

I survived it. I wasn’t even close to crashing. But then it’s hard to crash when you’re going about 30 MPH, looking like Mr Bean in a racing helmet. This training better be good, I thought.

Drifting
After some vital pointers on racing lines and throttle control from the instructors, the training began in earnest with Gavin Gough, a psychologist and mind coach employed to get Mardenborough up to speed. Using techniques adopted by racing legend Ayrton Senna, Gough encourages pre-race visualisation, where you imagine the perfect lap before you’ve even raced it.

To support this, Gough put me through a session of hypnotherapy. It was weird. To be honest with you I haven’t got a clue what he said or what he did – I think I remember him whispering something about “being at one with the car” – but when I came to I was completely relaxed and had a craving for a bacon sarnie. Make of that what you will.

But that was just the warm-up. Things got really serious in Silverstone’s iZone, a state-of-the-art driver training centre featuring all manner of whizzy techno gadgets, including a high-tech gym.

Shaping Up
Don’t underestimate just how fit racing drivers are. Under the watchful eye of fitness coach Eliot Challifour, the tall and slim Mardenborough has already shifted kilograms of fat and built up vital muscle mass, all of which is essential to a successful career.

Challifour has statistics that indicate a racing driver’s ideal body fat percentage, something he has used to devise the ultimate fitness programme. Core strength, nutrition, grip strength, reaction times, it’s all covered. Next month Mardenborough jets off to New York to compete in the city’s 2011 marathon. The boy’s in good shape.

I, however, am not. After some body composition and reaction time analysis in the gym, it was established in cold, scientific terms that I’m basically a bit fat and a bit slow. Great.

For all of the physical and mental training on offer, however, it’s being behind the wheel that Mardenborough loves most, something he gets to practice alongside real on-track experiences in the iZone’s Racing Simulator.

It’s tens of thousands of pounds worth of hydraulics, huge wrap-around HD screens and state of the art human performance data analysis software – a racing game fan’s wet dream.

“I couldn’t afford a proper racing rig before this,” Mardenborough tells me later. “You’re looking at something like £600 or £700 for a metal, tubular frame. So I decided to make my own at school in my A-Levels. I built it out of MDF and bought a racing wheel with my birthday money.”

He’s clearly come a long way.

Hot Lap
But had I? After a day of technical theory and physical and mental training, it was time for my final session in the car. I climbed back into the Nissan and headed out onto the track.

Astoundingly, it all started to go right. I hit 120 MPH going down Hanger Straight. I glided through the tight left of Vale and the long right of Club corner. I tamed Abbey and Farm Curve.

Going back over the footage it looks pretty slow and I did slide off the track a few times, but with the 370Z’s engine roaring beneath me I felt like I was flying. The day’s tiny taster of Mardenborough’s development programme knocked a full 15 seconds off my best lap time.

I was still the slowest driver on the track that day, but I was also the most improved. Get in.

Later, I sat in the passenger seat as Mardenborough roared around the track to show me exactly how it’s done. The boy’s a savage. Fearless. “Winning GT Academy and becoming a racing driver is all my dreams come true,” he told me.

As he screeched into corners and made the engine roar in terror down the straights, I gripped onto the roll bar for dear life. Perfectly calm, Mardenborough had a massive cheesy grin on his face throughout. He’s the luckiest bloke in the world

Enter GT Academy next year and you could be in Mardenborough’s driving seat. You could have millions of pounds of equipment and training at your disposal. You could be the one terrifying journalists with your blistering speed, ready to embark on a glamorous racing career.

It could be you. Because it certainly won’t be me.

]]>http://www.vg247.com/2011/11/01/all-my-dreams-come-true-a-day-at-the-gt-academy/feed/10GT5 DLC hitting US on October 25http://www.vg247.com/2011/10/19/gt5-dlc-delayed-in-us-eu-unaffected/
http://www.vg247.com/2011/10/19/gt5-dlc-delayed-in-us-eu-unaffected/#commentsWed, 19 Oct 2011 13:09:40 +0000http://www.vg247.com/?p=209775SCEA’s confirmed the first pile of DLC for Gran Turismo 5 has been re-dated in the US for October 25. The DLC, which includes new tracks, cars and other goodies was due to launch yesterday, October 18, as part of the US PS Store release. To make up for the delay, Sony is tossing in a “unique GT Academy dynamic theme,” as well the Honda NSX GT500 Stealth Model for free to those who purchase the Complete Pack by November 7. The releases in Europe and Asia, however, were unaffected.
]]>http://www.vg247.com/2011/10/19/gt5-dlc-delayed-in-us-eu-unaffected/feed/4GT5: Spec 2.0 update goes live, first DLC detailedhttp://www.vg247.com/2011/10/11/gt5-spec-2-0-update-goes-live-first-round-of-dlc-detailed/
http://www.vg247.com/2011/10/11/gt5-spec-2-0-update-goes-live-first-round-of-dlc-detailed/#commentsTue, 11 Oct 2011 06:20:10 +0000http://www.vg247.com/?p=208411Polyphony’s gone live with the Spec 2.0 update for Gran Turismo 5, as well as confirming the first details of DLC for the racer.

Spec 2.0 weights in at 1192Mb, with a handful of big changes onboard for the update, some of which include cockpit views for standard cars, a new intro movie, improved online lounge and, as previously detailed, the ability to save during endurance races.

The Course Pack will feature a weather-customisable Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium, as well as a night-time kart track for $4.99.

The Racing Car Pack will feature 15 cars for $7.99, including Red Bull X2011 Prototype ’11, which is currently being offered as a free gift in-game for one week thanks to Sebastian Vettel winning his second Formula One world championship.

The Racing Gear Pack, which will feature new helmets and overalls, will set you back $2.99, while the Paint Pack that will introduce new colours – shock – will be $1.99.

Get the whole lot in one single pack for $11.99. All of the content releases next week, October 18.

This is the first batch of DLC for Gran Turismo 5 since its worldwide launch in late November last year.

]]>http://www.vg247.com/2011/10/11/gt5-spec-2-0-update-goes-live-first-round-of-dlc-detailed/feed/14GT5 Functionality Update 2.0 detailed, releasing October 11http://www.vg247.com/2011/10/05/gt5-functionality-update-2-0-detailed-releasing-october-11/
http://www.vg247.com/2011/10/05/gt5-functionality-update-2-0-detailed-releasing-october-11/#commentsWed, 05 Oct 2011 16:00:21 +0000http://www.vg247.com/?p=207189The contents of Functionality Update 2.0 to Gran Turismo 5 have been detailed by Sony and Polyphony Digital, and it looks as though the free update will include interior views in standard cars, and the ability to save progress during endurance races.

The update will also include a package consisting of of 11 NASCAR 2011 vehicles, improvements to the weather settings with the ability to adjust the weather from the start of a race to its finish, and even Photo Travel Mode updates.

Load times have been shortened, an improved menu response and user interface has been implemented, car physics simulation is improved with a further evolved A.I., new features in the Online Lounge were added, and the game will now support Logitech’s G25/G27 steering wheels.

“The coming Gran Turismo 5 Spec 2 update is an update that contains the feedback from the users playing GT5 online every day,” said series creator Kazunori Yamauchi. “We have added cars such as the newest NASCAR race cars, but many of the updates are those that improve usability and expand the field of game play.

“I believed from the initial release of Gran Turismo 5 that it would be the users that would make the game grow thereafter, and we added things like interior views for the standard models because there was a lot of request for it from our users. You could say that this update is the shape and form of GT5 that was created through the opinions of our fans.”

Additional DLC for GT5 is also in the works, and will include new vehicles, tracks, and other new content, all of which is to be announced at a later date.